This bit comes from Publishers Weekly, and yeah, I'm a little late getting to it but I seem to recall being sort of busy last weekend. Anyhoo: The iPad Meets the Children's Book Apps for kids' stories start to proliferate for Apple's newest product By Karen Springen -- Publishers Weekly, 4/8/2010 4:54:00 PM Apr8AppsMissSpiderInteriorJUMP"An interior... Continue Reading →
Do you have a signature cliche?
My agent looked at a manuscript recently and said, "You like the word [DELETED FOR THE SAKE OF MY PRIDE]."There's a funny article on the Guardian.com about this very topic. Read it here.Then, try pasting your document into Wordle.net. Especially for shorter works, it can make your crutch words leap out at you swiftly and... Continue Reading →
Penguin plays with the iPad
This is pretty cool!Thanks to Liz Mills for the link.
The ebook platform for kids?
GalleyCat had this fascinating item about the Nintendo DS (a new version of it, anyway). The thing to note here is that this particular toy is the iPhone/Holy Grail/fetish object of the 5-and-up set. It could have huge implications for children's books:Retailing for $189.99 and coming in both burgundy and bronze editions, the Nintendo DSi... Continue Reading →
Are you an author 2.0?
Simon & Schuster thinks you should be. The Creative Penn blog tells you how.
Techno hate and ink pots
Michele Torrey has a blog post that's fun to ponder on a Thursday. Here's an excerpt:All this has got me thinking. Just how and when did my life became so interconnected with computers, the Internet, and email? Just when did my entire day get flushed down the loo if my computer froze or had to... Continue Reading →
Contest: the future of children’s books
WIRED magazine is having a Photoshop contest in which we are to imagine the future of children's books. Get your details here.Is my imagination lame in that I envision children's books that 1) repel stains; 2) resist tears; 3) take themselves back to the library?Thanks to Kirsten Carlson for the link.
Boost your productivity
Michael Stearns at Upstart Crow blogged about software called Freedom. It shuts off your crack supply Internet connection for however many minutes you specify, leaving you free to develop new distractions, like grooming your arm hair write. Read more here.And get the software (Mac-only) here.
There be pirates!
It's not just the music and movie industries being pecked at by pirates.Here are some confessions of a book thief at The Millions:The Real Caterpillar: In the past month, I have uploaded approximately 50 books to the torrent site where you contacted me. I am much less active then I once was. I used to... Continue Reading →
Because if you’re going to torture yourself
...with your Amazon page rank, you might as well make it international.Here's the tool: Aaron Shepard's Sales Rank Express.